Summary
Funded through Science Foundation Ireland’s Net Zero Emissions Challenge, Farm Zero C is working to develop a world’s first net zero emissions and resilient dairy farm. Combining a variety of emission mitigation strategies including low emission animal feeds, renewable energy production, multi-species grasslands, sustainable slurry storage and management practices, as well as increasing on-farm natural habitats, the project aims to create a pathway for Irish agriculture to decarbonize. Working with farmers at Shinagh Farm, the project will transfer the model to satellite farms via a farmer carbon neutral app, support web platform and a social innovation blueprint to support wider replication across Ireland and beyond.
Objectives
- Reduce GHG emissions from farm animals and slurries
- Reduce emissions by reducing fertilisers, using local biobased fertilisers, and multi-species swards (MSS)
- Measure and monitoring changes in soil C stocks
- Use renewable energy and storage to reduce fossil energy emissions
- Use local and grass biorefining protein sources for animal nutrition to reduce emissions
- Achieve the green deal target of 10% of farm area managed for biodiversity within the intensive dairy farming system
- Build an App using LCA, habitat mapping< Natural capital accounting for use by farmers to quantify and implement emissions reductions and biodiversity increases (target 5,000 farmers within 5 years)
Project details
Duration:
July 2021 – July 2023
Funding:
Funded by Science Foundation Ireland, €2,500,000
Consortium
- BiOrbic
- Carbery
- UCD
- MTU
- Trinity College Dublin
- Teagasc
- Grassa
